Modern agricultural practices rely heavily on timely application of agricultural products such as fertilizers and chemicals. Some of these products are applied in dry form using dry product spreading equipment, and others are applied in liquid form using sprayers.
It is advantageous to mount the dry and liquid product application equipment on separate skids, that can be interchangeably mounted on the same product applicator. Such skid-mounted equipment is typically large in size and heavy, weighing as much as several thousand ponds. Lifting the skid-mounted equipment into place typically requires the use of some sort of lifting arrangement.
The equipment-carrying skid must be precisely aligned on the frame of the applicator to properly interface with hydraulic and electrical connections, and mounting hardware that secures the skid to the frame. Also, the skid-mounted equipment must be properly positioned and secured on the applicator to properly balance the large loads of the application equipment and product on the frame of the applicator, so that the applicator can safely operate while travelling over uneven terrain, nits, ditches and the like, during application of the agricultural product.
In the past, skid-mounted equipment had to be manually guided onto the frame of the applicator in such a manner that mounting holes and features were properly aligned, often while the skid was dangling from an overhead crane or lifting device. It is desirable to provide an improved apparatus and method for aligning skid-mounted application equipment onto the frame of an applicator, in a manner that is more precise and less cumbersome than in prior approaches.